Governor signs bar fee bill

Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the State Bar fee bill, which will boost bar dues
for all California lawyers by $10. The fees for active attorneys will be $410
next year and for inactive lawyers, $125.

The base fee for active lawyers is $315. Additional assessments include $25
for the discipline system, $40 for the Client Security Fund, $10 for the lawyer
assistance program, $10 for technology and a new $10 assessment for office
space in southern California. The bar’s lease on its current offices
in Los Angeles will expire in 2014, and the new money — a five-year assessment — will
fund either a new lease or purchase of a bulding.

The measure signed by the governor last month, AB 3049, will permit lawyers
to deduct $5 for the bar’s lobbying efforts and $5 for the elimination
of bias.